The Nation: UNSINKABLE HYMAN RICKOVER

By Jimmy Carter's account, Admiral Hyman Rickover, 77, has had a
"profound effect on my life, perhaps more than anyone else except my
own parents." The President took the title of his autobiography, Why
Not the Best?, from a question asked by the curmudgeonly architect of
the U.S. nuclear submarine fleet during their first meeting in 1952,
when Carter was a junior officer. After Carter's Inauguration, one of
his first guests for lunch at the White House was the admiral, who
presented the President with a desk plaque that read: O, GOD, THY SEA
IS SO GREAT AND MY BOAT IS...